1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer made from silicon which has been derived from a single crystal which has been pulled from a melt using the Czochralski method (Cz method).
2. The Prior Art
A pulled single crystal of this type and a semiconductor wafer which has been separated therefrom generally have vacancy defects, known as voids. These agglomerations of vacancies cause problems during the fabrication of electronic components. It is known that, by tempering the semiconductor wafer in a pure hydrogen atmosphere at a temperature of more than 1100° C., the defects can be eliminated at least in a region of the semiconductor wafer which is close to the surface.
According to investigations carried out by E. Iino et al., which have been published in Materials Science and Engineering V 36 (1996) 146, the presence of hydrogen when the single crystal is being pulled using the Cz method induces a different type of defect in the single crystal. This type of defect is known as cavities, which may even make the single crystal unusable as a base material for the fabrication of electronic components.